Donald Trump has turned the Republican Party into something its mainstream, sane members – what is left of them anyway – do not even recognize. GOP Congresspeople are peddling propaganda like they are Trump’s own Josef Goebbels instead of being the Constitutional check on him that they are supposed to be, and they are constantly imperiling the republic with their sycophantic quest for ever more governmental power. Well, there is one Republican who is sick of it all: Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.

After the GOP released the misleading, lying memo alleging criminal activity taking place inside the Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to take down Trump, Steele took to Twitter and blasted the release of such trash to the already confused and divided American public:

The folks at @TheOnion after reading the #NunesMemo have sent a cease and desist order to the House Intelligence Committee for stealing their material.

Yes, you read that right. The former RNC Chair just compared official material put out by members of the House of Representatives of his own party of being nothing more than satire. It has gotten that bad folks. Further, Steele is right. These people are using this pack of lies to give cover to Trump at the expense of our democratic republic. This is how autocracies start – when government officials sow lies, confusion, and division in the public psyche for their own gain until we can no longer agree on even basic facts anymore. Trump supporters will take the memo as gospel, while the people who hate Trump will take it as nothing more than proof that Trump and his entire administration are nothing but a pack of criminals who should be tossed out of the White House and into prison posthaste (full disclosure: I am in the latter camp).

In short, it’s going to take more Republicans like Michael Steel standing up and saying that this is wrong, before it is too late. And it has to be Republicans with something to lose, not the ones who have retired to become talking heads on left-leaning MSNBC.

Author: Shannon BarberShannon Barber is a self- described queer feminist and activist for racial equality, LGBT rights, women’s rights, and secular rights in America. She is a lifelong lover of words, though her educational background is in computer science. She currently writes for 2 liberal websites, and keeps her own humor blog for lesbians. She hopes to change the world, one mind at a time.